I just picked up my new Z and am starting to research track wheels and tires. I think I'd like to go with 17" with 275 rubber all around. Can anyone comment on this? What are people running? Feel free to post sizes, offset, pics etc..

 

BBS 17's ....245 fronts and 275 rears with Hoosiers

 

Thanks, dwnshift. That's a great shot. The IS300 right behind you was my last car.

anyone else?

 

IIRC, a good number of people in this forum are using 245/40 Toyo RA1s all around on stock wheels (OEM Rays). I'll be purchasing a set of RA1s next week, just not sure if I'm going to go with staggered sizes w/ 275 in the rear or 245s all around. These will be mounted on my stock wheels...

 

245/40 Front - 275/40 Back as well...

 

I'm running Kumho Victoracers, 245/45-17 front on SSR Comp H wheels (17 x 8.5 front) and 275/40-17 on a 17 x 9.5 rear. Amazing balance, very neutral. The 45 series front and 40 series rear with those widths maintain as close as possible to stock wheel diameters, important for ABS and accurate mileage accruement.

 

I'm running 245/45ZR17 Falken Azenis Sports on all four corners with the stock 17" wheels. Works great for track, autocross and driving to work everyday.

 

I picked up a set of OEM rays (track package) wheels used from a forum member for an attractive price. I mount 245/40-18 Hoosier R3S03s on them and it works great. My car has stock suspension so I like the equal size tires front and rear to dial out the understeer. If you are planning on (or have done) suspension mods and can dial out the understeer that way, the 245/275 stagger may be your best bet. But remember the 350Z is very front heavy and it'll tend to understeer unless you get pretty aggressive with front camber and/or rear suspension stiffness.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I bought the base model with the intention of upgrading the wheels, brakes, lsd, ect. I have been running the RA-1's for years and probalby will stick with them simply for the bang for the buck factor.
I like the comp-h's in 17's. Blue liquid it sounds like you don't think the 275's are necessary up front? If you had to do it over again would you stick with the staggered setup?
I will probably be getting the upper control arms in the near future too which will increase my grip in front. I always just figured it would be best to start with a balanced tire platform and tune from there.

 

will 275 for the front rub?
my car is lowered with JIC

 

I'm not sure if a 275 up front will rub or not. I'd be especially concerned with a lowered car. I can't honestly say that it wouldn't work well running a 275 up front. As I've stated, I run a more modest 245 width tire up front and I feel the car demonstrates amazing balance (though with R compounds I feel as though I'm pushing the stock suspension past it's limits). One would have to experiment to find the tire widths they feel work best for their situation. My school of thought was to keep the stagger as Nissan designers intended, only widening it some front and back. But other solutions may work as well.

 

I'm running 275/40-17 on enkei 17x9 +35 wheels all 4 corners, no rubbing at all. I've only run on one tight track so far with this setup, and its amazing. I also run 245/40-17 front and 245/45-17 rear (kumho/hoosier combo), but only because I got a deal on used race tires.

 

sport compact car magazine did a writeup with 275's all around so I'm assuming they'll fit.
thanks 2003z for the feedback. Do the 275' buldge on the 9" rim?

 

my 275's do not bulge at all on a 9.5 inch rim.

 

no, they dnt bulge.

 

Would you mind sharing your offsets? I am making my purchase this week. I wonder if your rears would work up front...

 

My offsets are the same as the stock 17 inch wheels (can't remember the numbers right now). Not so nice for looks, but at least there shouldn't be any undue hub or wheel bearing stress due to improper offsets. And with the loads I subject this car to with wide R compounds, the last thing I want is undue hub stress.

 

I just ordered the ssr comp-h 9.5" rears to test fit up front with 275's. I'll post my findings next week.

 

The ssr comp-h' 9.5" +35 rears just barely fit in the front. There's about 3mm clearance at the tire. I might get a 5mm spacer just to be safe, but it looks ok. The tire is about even with the fender.

 

D'OH told me in another thread that R comounds can make the car corner at 1.3 lateral g's. "My bone stock Z will corner @ 1.3G with Kumho V700 racing tires." That sounds wild. Anyone with these tires post some more thoughts!